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Yet another fire in Amritsar Blaze at Kapurthala coach factory too |
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PSPCL overdraws power, issued warning
ministerspeak: looking ahead
DSGMC may raise memorial to riot victims
Literacy rate doubles in 40 years
Congress lashes out at BJP for supporting Bluestar Memorial
Contractual teachers await salary hike
Accidents: Police data, PHSC figures just don’t match
Sulabh project comes under scanner
Ghanaur DSP without office since months
No brakes on drunken driving in Patiala
Lathi charge on farmers: Judicial inquiry sought
Punjab plans to give
1,300 monthly sports scholarships
TET teachers decide to resume agitation
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Yet another fire in Amritsar Amritsar, June 24 Though the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, residents blamed the Khanna Paper Mill. They said the management had dumped its paper damaged in the recent fire in the mill premises. Sunit Kochhar, managing director of the mill, refuted the charges. The district administration said they had not given permission to the mill to dump its material there and the matter would be probed. The fire that was noticed by residents of nearby slums at about 7.30 p. Because of strong winds, it immediately spread to the scrapyard. The slums were evacuated and residents shifted to safer places. A whole battery of officials reached the spot. Besides DC Rajat Agarwal, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dharampal Gupta and Civil Surgeon Dr HS Ghai reached the site. Tarlochan Singh, Fire Station Officer, said six fire tenders had been pressed into service and more called to douse the flames. Gautam, a local resident said, they had objected to the Khanna Paper Mill dumping mounds of damaged paper along the scrapyard but to no avail. He said earlier too a fire had broken out but was brought under control. The DC said he had received complaints against the mill. “A seven-member team has been formed to investigate the matter,” he said. While denying the charges, Sunit Kochhar said that a contractor had taken some waste paper which he might have dumped there. But the mill has nothing to do with it. All the material destroyed in the recent fire in the mill, is lying in the mill premises and it was to be auctioned by the insurance company only, he said.
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Fire at Kapurthala coach factory, reason not known
Kapurthala, June 24 The incident came to light at 5.10 pm when officials of the Railway Protection Force (RCF) saw smoke emanating from the store. It took two hours for the firemen to douse the flames. As many as 150 paint drums of 20-litre capacity each were reduced to ashes. No casualty was reported since no one was present in the factory for it being Sunday today. Three fire tenders were pressed into service. Even duct pipes and water hydrants were used to avoid fire from spreading. After noticing fire, RCF officials swung into action and disconnected power supply to the factory and moved two coaches kept for painting in the workshop to a safe area. As the workshop area is equipped with electrical material, machines, coaches and lubricants, around 200 staff members were immediately called for help. RCF official Virender Vij said: "The exact cause of fire is not known yet, but it seems that the tragedy took place due to scorching heat. On working days, one person always remains on duty at the paint store, but everybody was on off today". He said Chief Mechanical Engineer Alok Dave would constitute a committee to ascertain the amount of loss and the reason behind the incident. Till the filing of this report, RCF officials were busy in flushing paint containers. “It is important to flush the containers otherwise it could further lead to some explosion or fire,” he added.
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PSPCL overdraws power, issued warning
Patiala, June 24 A schedule in this regard, which is in possession of The Tribune, states that the power corporation had indulged in drawing power beyond 6,000 MW although for a short duration in the past two days. The total transfer capacity (TTC) of Punjab from the Northern Grid is 5,400 MW whereas the available transfer capacity (ATC) is 5,100 MW. The cushion of 300 MW has been kept to ensure the stability of the grid in case of sudden tripping of any transformer or transmission line. "It is surprising that the corporation is drawing about 5,800 MW to 6,000 MW from the grid and still claims that it is not allowed to draw more than 5,100 MW," said an NRLDC official over the phone from New Delhi. The NRLDC has already reprimanded the PSPCL not to jump its drawing limit. Security of the Northern Grid assumes significance in wake of the fact that this grid caters to Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, J&K, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh. In case of tripping or failure of the grid, the power supply can be badly affected in all these states and the UT. Power sector experts said even if the NRLDC allowed Punjab to draw power beyond the limit, the state's distribution system was not strong enough to take that load. Ravinder Singh, Director, Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL), said: "There may be some 220 KV substations which are overloaded, but by and large the transmission system is working properly". GS Chhabra, Director (Generation), PSPCL, said except for two units, each of 110 MW capacity of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, Bathinda, all thermal units of Lehra Mohabbat, Ropar and Bathinda plants were operating to the optimum level. Interestingly, till yesterday, the PSPCL management was claiming that the NRLDC was not allowing Punjab to draw more than 5,100 MW, but today, the management accepted that the corporation was overdrawing power from the Northern Grid. A PSPCL spokesperson said: "The contention of the NRLDC that Punjab is overdrawing heavily is not correct. Most of time, Haryana and UP are overdrawing heavily from the grid. The NRLDC has failed to augment its system due to which Punjab is suffering, despite its willingness to pay for the additional power". Officials stopped at Moti Bagh Palace Patiala: After inspecting electricity meters installed at Moti Bagh Palace, the residence of PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh, on Saturday, a team of PSPCL officials again went to the palace on Sunday to inspect power load there. However, the officials were not allowed entry by the palace staff, saying that both Amarinder and Preneet are not present there. Following reports that seals of some of the power meters installed at the palace are broken, the PSPCL team had conducted an inspection on Saturday. Arun Verma, Director (Distribution), PSPCL, confirmed that an inspection was conducted, but said he would only comment on the matter after getting a report from the team. Sources said since there were a number of servant and employee quarters, separate power meters had been installed and a majority of these were in the name of Amarinder Singh. Grid at risk
Power corp U-turn Earlier, the PSPCL management was claiming that the NRLDC was not allowing Punjab to draw more than 5,100 MW, but on Sunday, it accepted that the corporation had been overdrawing power from the Northern Grid Ready to pay more for additional power A PSPCL spokesperson said: "The contention of the NRLDC that Punjab is overdrawing heavily is not correct. Most of time, Haryana and UP are overdrawing heavily from the grid. The NRLDC has failed to augment its system due to which Punjab is suffering, despite its willingness to pay for the additional power".
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ministerspeak: looking ahead
Surjit Singh Rakhra wants to be remembered as Rural Development and Panchayat Minister who made earnest efforts to bridge the rural-urban divide. In an interview with Jangveer Singh, he talked of the need for region-specific schemes.
My first thoughts were to take steps to end factional fighting in panchayats, which spokes the development process. I am aware of the migration from villages to urban areas and the lack of facilities in villages due to which even government servants are reluctant to serve there. Unemployment in rural areas remains a bane. How do you propose to change this state of affairs? We are fine-tuning the ‘e-panchayat’ initiative under which the functioning of panchayats will become transparent. I want to make people proud of their villages by ensuring they have their own portal where apart from information on the village, expenditure of development funds will also be recorded. This will remove bad blood among different factions on the money spent on development works. Simultaneously, the PURA (Provisioning of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) is being implemented under which villages with a population of 25,000 - 40,000 will be provided urban facilities. Skill development centres will also be developed in rural areas under this scheme. What else is being done to make the department functioning more efficient? Training is being given by chartered accountants to sarpanches, panches and officials to help them prepare accounts as per the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) guidelines. Rules are being recast to improve the qualification of panchayat secretaries. Video-conferencing facilities are being set up at our office in Mohali for direct and periodic interaction with officials in the field. The concept of ‘panchayat sammelans’ has been given shape. This will enable direct interaction with sarpanches at the district level. We are highlighting success stories to promote the concept of model panchayats. Besides focusing on reforms, I want to end open defecation in three years. The state will spend Rs 285 crore in three years to cover 5.5 lakh families who do not have a toilet. The scheme will be open to everyone who does not have a toilet in his or her home. There have been complaints about the design of rural toilets. There are issues of seepage and waterlogging. Will these be addressed? The design is sound. Problems have occurred where beneficiaries have made changes or are using excess water. The toilet seats are angled in such a manner that they require minimum water for cleaning. We have also brought in Sulabh under which besides construction of toilets, an awareness drive will be undertaken to ensure that these are used regularly. The company has been awarded a contract for constructing 15,000 toilets in the first phase. The scheme for the houseless has not been implemented properly. What steps are you taking in this regard? We are awaiting the latest socio-economic survey. The 2001 survey had identified only 4.40 lakh families living below poverty line (BPL). We expect the cost per house to be increased from the present Rs 45,000. Any move to better the lot of village ponds? There are ponds in 25,000 acres, that comes to roughly two acres per village. A plan has been made to rejuvenate 800 ponds this year. We are looking at a UNICEF technology that divides the pond into four parts with the first part being the inlet. Duckweed and fish will be used to clean the other parts. Encroachment of village land and the manner in which ‘shamlat’ land is used has been a matter of controversy. What remedy do you suggest? There will be zero tolerance towards encroachments. The department is in the process of getting cross cases filed wherever panchayat land has been encroached upon. We will get orders for eviction and reclaim such land. We have decided on a 24-hour helpline that will receive and track such complaints. What is the status of livelihood improvement schemes? We have 40 such schemes in 11 districts covering 1.84 lakh hectares. They include integrated watershed managements projects, mainly in the Kandi area, besides schemes encouraging drip irrigation, livestock development and provision of drinking water and roads in the backward regions of the state. What challenges to you expect in the way of realising your goals? Funds remain a challenge. We will try to ensure matching grants wherever needed. The state cannot avail of several schemes due to BPL limitations. Punjab needs area-specific schemes to accelerate the rate of development. We also want to be given special status. We have peculiar problems with industry being non-existent in border districts, some areas waterlogged and still others in Kandi thirsting for water.
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DSGMC may raise memorial to riot victims
Amritsar, June 24 This was stated by DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna who was in town today with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to inaugurate Guru Teg Bahadur
Niwas, an inn for pilgrims. Spread over 2800-sq yard, the inn has been built at a cost of Rs 12 crore. It has 84 rooms (42 AC, 42 non-AC) and four halls.
Sarna said a proposal for raising a memorial to the riot victims would be deliberated at the executive meeting of the
DSGMC. Asked if the Congress would support the move, Sarna said the Congress had always been supportive of issues related to the Delhi Sikh community. Endorsing his stand, the Delhi CM said: “Till date, nobody has approached us with any such proposal. But it will definitely be considered if the DSGMC takes the initiative”. On Bluestar Memorial, Sarna said: “ I feel the memorial should neither be in the shape of a gurdwara nor within the premises of a
gurdwara.” He alleged the DSGMC had built Guru Teg Bahadur Niwas because of the non-cooperative attitude of the SGPC towards Sikhs from other states. “We have been receiving complaints from Sikh pilgrims from other states visiting the Golden Temple that the SGPC staff is reluctant to accommodate them in inns. Even yesterday, the pilgrims who accompanied us from Delhi were refused accommodation at the SGPC-run inns. “If need be, another inn could be built over a 200-sq yard plot in the galliara area,” Sarna said. Among those present at the inauguration of the inn were present
Jathedar, Takht Patna Sahib, Iqbal Singh, Shiromani Panthic chairman Manjit Singh Calcutta and district Congress leaders.
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Literacy rate doubles in 40 years
The previous survey on literacy was conducted in 1971. Almost 75 per cent of the total population of Punjab is now literate. The literacy rate among men is 81.5 per cent while it is 71.3 per cent among women. Hoshiarpur district with 85.4 per cent has the highest literacy rate. The district having least literacy rate is Mansa with just 62.8 per cent literate population. In
Hoshiarpur, maximum urban women (85.4 per cent) are literate while the most literate urban men are in Mohali district (92.2 per cent), reveals the survey report.
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Cong to take on CM over power crisis
Patiala, June 24 Leader of the Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Sunil Jakhar said the Congress MLAs would take up the matter on the floor of the House during zero hour, demanding that the CM must announce the steps being taken to improve the power scenario. “We will ask Badal to give specific dates pertaining to the commissioning of thermal plants. During the 2007 assembly poll, Badal had claimed that Punjab would be power surplus in three years. However, the government has failed to keep its promise, except for signing memorandum of understanding (MoU) with private players for setting up the plants,” Jakhar said. He said in the past five years (2007-12) the SAD-BJP government had not been able to increase the power generation capacity. “Now the government is saying that Punjab will be a power surplus state in the next three years. They are only befooling the people”, Jakhar said.
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SAD MLA accuses power corp chief of bungling
Ludhiana, June 24 He said the power corporation had laid 220 KV tower lines and released power connections to residences in unauthorised colonies. The Akali legislator said those living in rural areas were bearing the brunt of the government decision not to issue power connections to unauthorised colonies. "Choudhri himself resides in an unauthorised colony in Ludhiana and a power connection was provided at his residence in violation of government directives," he maintained. He also charged the PSPCL chief with manipulating plans for laying the 220 KV tower lines from Humbran to the Ferozepur Grid in collusion with certain colonisers. He said location of certain towers was changed to save land owned by influential persons at the cost of poor farmers with limited land-holdings. Shivalik urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to set up a high-level committee for an impartial probe into acts of omission and commission by the PSPCL CMD in view of the government’s commitment to a corruption-free governance. Talking to The Tribune on the phone, Choudhri denied the allegations. He said works under the APDRP were allotted through a transparent bidding system. "As far as the state’s performance regarding this centrally-funded scheme is concerned, Punjab is well ahead of other states.The Union Power Secretary has been all praise for the state." Choudhri said the PSPCL had nothing to do with the laying of the 220 KV tower lines, which was the sole prerogative of Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited. “All such allegations are totally baseless and false,” Choudhri said. Placing on record the policy on the release of power connections to houses in unauthorised colonies, he said contrary to what the legislator had said, it was the PSPCL which had gone to the Punjab State Power Regulatory Commission to seek permission for releasing new connections to prevent harassment to thousands of residents living in unauthorised colonies across the state.
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Congress lashes out at BJP for supporting Bluestar Memorial
Chandigarh, June 24 The BJP vice-president and party incharge of Punjab affairs, Shanta Kumar, has said yesterday that he was satisfied with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s plea that the “memorial will commemorate all those killed in the Army operation, including innocent persons and not just the militants”. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary and Dhuri MLA Arvind Khanna said this simply meant that the BJP had no objection to a memorial for the militants. “In that case, why should the BJP object to honouring Balwant Singh Rajoana either,”
he asked. “There can be a memorial either for the militants or the innocent persons and not for both”, he said. Khanna said the BJP owed an explanation to the kin of terrorist victims as to why it had supported the memorial. “It is clear choice between principles and power”, Khanna remarked, pointing out, “ the BJP has opted for power while forsaking its principles”. Khanna, however, said he was not surprised at the BJP’s double standards.
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Contractual teachers await salary hike
Chadnigarh, June 24 After a cabinet subcommittee proposed a salary hike for government schoolteachers, the issue went to the Cabinet that passed the same in December last year. But then the model code of conduct was imposed and the decision remained unimplemented, even as higher pay had been notified on December 15, 2011 by the Finance Department. After the SAD-BJP alliance returned to power, several promises have been made to improve the standard of education, but these teachers are still being paid less than peons and class IV employees working on a regular basis. There are 7,654 contractual teachers working on consolidated salaries. The salary difference is beyond justification. For example, a lecturer working on contract gets Rs 6,400 whereas a regular lecturer is getting around Rs 35,000 per month. Similarly, a master cadre contract-based teacher gets just Rs 5,400 per month whereas a regular on same post gets over Rs 30,000. In a meeting of the Project Approval Board for considering the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) 2012-13, for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan held on March 19, Punjab's request for provisioning salary of contractual employees in the budget was put down on the ground that the state should first appoint 1,106 primary schoolteachers and inform the department so that balance salary amount can be made available. Many contractual teachers are contemplating quitting their jobs for more lucrative avenues as they are losing hope of a salary hike. Even the already issued notification has proposed salaries for contractual teachers that are much lower than those paid to regular teachers. It is a different matter that the government is not even complying with a recent Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling that says a contract-based employee working on the regular post cannot be forced to work at pay lower than the basic pay. The government's argument is that these teachers are not being forced to work and they have chosen the contractual jobs out of their free will. Punjab has seen an increase in enrollments at the primary level in government schools by 1.17 per cent in 2011-12 as compared to 2010-11. But at the upper primary level, there has been a decline in the enrollments by 0.29 per cent.
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Accidents: Police data, PHSC figures just don’t match Ludhiana, June 23
Says Kamaljit Soi, Punjab State Road Safety Council: “I am shocked at the figures. There appears to be some miscommunication. I have figures from the Punjab Police showing 5,731 accidents in the last financial year.” Highly placed government sources say that the discrepancy may be owing to the fact that 108 service is mandated to respond to all calls. There are various types of road accidents, from major to minor. In many cases, an FIR is not registered. Raahat has raised objections to the government’s move to pay Rs 24 crore to Ziqitza Healthcare Limited in the first year of its operation.This works out at Rs 1.18 lakh per month on each ambulance for operational expenses. “For each 108 emergency ambulance, Rs 1.18 lakh per month is being paid as operational expenses to service provider Ziqitza Healthcare. “Our NGO will bring the matter to the notice of the Chief Minister and the Health Minister. We will seek a Vigilance probe into the issue,” said Komal. But sources say the project was approved by the Cabinet and the contract awarded to the lowest bidder after a comprehensive technical evaluation. When contacted, Vipan Kumar, Director, PHSC and Principal Information Officer said: “The information given is true to the best of my knowledge. The 108 emergency service has saved 1.70 lakh lives by providing first-aid and transporting victims to hospitals. It is handling almost 800 emergency cases these days.” Despite repeated attempts, the ADGP (Traffic), RP Singh, and the IG (Traffic), RPS Brar, were not available for comment.
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Sulabh project comes under scanner
Muktsar, June 24 Deputy Commissioner Paramjit Singh had on June 4 and June 10 issued warnings to officials of the organisation in this regard. During his visit to Sham Khera and Sarawa Bodla villages in the district yesterday, he found substandard material material being used to build toilets. Accompanied by senior administrative officials, the DC directed Sulabh International to rebuild these toilets with quality material. “I have warned officials of Sulabh International against using inferior bricks and inadequate quantity of cement in the construction work. Besides, they have been directed to rebuild all toilets which have not been found up to the mark,” Paramjit Singh said. The toilets are being built under the government’s pilot project to end open defecation in the state.
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Ghanaur DSP without office since months
Patiala, June 24 Despite the budgetary provision of over Rs 3,200 crore for the Punjab Police in this financial year, the DSP, Ghanaur, a post created a few months ago, has no official address. DSP Devinder Singh Dhuri has been running from pillar to post to get an office accommodation so that he could listen to public grievances. “People are complaining against me but I have no option,” Dhuri said, as he rushed to a village near Shambhu to meet some complainants. A few months ago, the state police had carved out three police stations from the purview of the Rajpura police and created a new sub-division under a separate DSP ranked officer. The three police stations namely Shambhu, Ganda Kherhi and Ghanaur were added to this new sub-division. Even after the new DSP joined a couple of months ago, the district police department has failed to allocate an office. Instead, all routine and secret police communiqués are being sent to the DSP through telephonic messages. “We have a land dispute case lodged at Ganda Kherhi police station and our attempts to meet the DSP have turned futile as the police station officials tell us that the DSP has no office so call him up on his mobile phone and fix an appointment,” said complainants. Patiala SP (Headquarters) Shamsher Singh Boparai, who is responsible for such matters, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill said very soon a new office would be allotted to the
DSP.
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No brakes on drunken driving in Patiala
Patiala, June 24 Worst affected are the markets opposite the Deputy Commissioner and SSP’s residences, where booze lovers have turned the entire area into a pub sometimes even before sunset. The traffic police was busy holding a naka near Leela Bhawan, while youngsters were busy having drinks opposite the DC’s residence, said Pooja, a local resident. They passed cheap comments and one of them even asked my mobile number. Had I informed my family members, then there would have been unnecessary trouble as all of them were having drinks openly, she said. The unhealthy practice of liquor consumption at public places, including city markets, residential colonies and parks etc has increased with residents facing difficulty in stepping out of their houses in the evening. "You can check any car near our market in the evening and most of the occupants can be seen having drinks and ordering snacks from inside their vehicles", said a resident staying opposite the YPS. Norms stipulate that drinking is allowed only in bars, “ahatas” (drinking places approved by the administration) and hotels. In this regard, the role of traffic police comes under the scanner, which has issued only 13 challans in the past four months, nine in the first 15 days of June. The traffic police had failed to issue even a single challan for drunken driving in March and April. However, the same wing issued 837 challans for black films in May alone. SP (Headquarters), Patiala, Shamsher Singh Boparai, who holds the traffic charge, was unavailable for comments. When contacted, Punjab ADGP (Traffic) RP Singh promised stern action. “We will not tolerate such an act and I will surely ask the district SSP to initiate a drive and check all such offenders,” he stated.
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Lathi charge on farmers: Judicial inquiry sought
Chandigarh, June 24 Releasing the report of a fact-finding committee, IDP state secretary Karnail Singh Jakhepal and CPI (ML) Liberation state secretary Rajvinder Singh Rana said on June 19, Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) led a heavy posse of police and secretly swooped on village Charason in Sanaur Block of Patiala district to dispossess the small farmers from a piece of 90 acres of land which they had been cultivating since 1947. In the mid-noon aggression, the police burst teargas shells, lathi-charged and wreaked repression on the cultivators, their women folk and elders who gathered there in the wake of the police action. As a result, at least three-dozen farmers, including women, were injured and hospitalised. Later, 10 farmer leaders who went to the hospital to inquire about health of the injured were also taken into custody by the police. The police high-handedness and civil officials’ excesses on the small cultivators raised hue and cry in the state and taking note of grave situation, the Internationalist Democratic Party (IDP) and the CPI (ML-Liberation) constituted an inquiry committee to conduct on the spot probe. The committee members included IDP leaders Karnail Singh Jakhepal, state-secretary, Gurmeet Singh Thuhi, Patiala district president, and CPI-ML-Liberation leaders Kamaljit and Hasmeet and Baljinder Singh Ichhewal, Advocate, Punjab and Haryana High Court. The committee members visited the village for two days, met the affected and injured farmers and members of the village panchayat and sarpanch. They also met BDPO Jaswant Kaur, revenue officials and other concerned people. The committee has given a finding that of the village’s total 1,702 acres of cultivable land, almost half was lying barren and uncultivated where cultivators displaced from Pakistan in 1947 got settled? Over the years, they developed the land as cultivable through their sweat and toil. The cultivators invested their small savings and got installed tubewells in their names. As cultivators, they got ‘girdawari’ registered in their names. Over 200 families of them have also built their houses on the land in question. For decades, the cultivators were getting assurance from the civil authorities and political leaders that they would not be dispossessed from the land they have been cultivating. The report says that some of the influential and mobile section of cultivators got 250-300 acres of land under their possession decreed in their favour from civil courts invoking political and officials’ patronage. But, small and poor farmers cultivating around 90 acres, anyhow, failed to secure such legal covering for that land. And, the panchayat officials forced the village panchayat to adopt resolution in 2009 for dispossessing the poor cultivators from 90 acres of land. Thereafter, authorities issued warrants of dispossession and sought to be implemented the same through force on June 19. To cover-up the excesses on petty tillers, the police registered case at Sadar Police Station, Patiala, against 61 farmers under sections 307, 353, 506 of the IPC and under section 25/27/54/59 of the Arms Act. In fact, names of 61 farmers figured in the list of persons against whom warrants of dispossession had been issued. The height of police callousness could be judged from the fact that 15 of them are among the dead, two are living abroad for more than 10 years, two are on sickbed, two left the village long ago and living at some other places. The committee found that the small tillers were being dispossessed from their cultivable land in a conspiratorial manner. “The land is the only resource of their livelihood. These cultivators are farming just half, one or two acres of land which otherwise, should have been given to them long back. And the un-privileged and deprived people should not be made target of the official excesses,” the report stated.
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Punjab plans to give 1,300 monthly sports scholarships
Chandigarh, June 24 Sportspersons below 16 years of age would be paid Rs 500 monthly, while those above 16 years would get Rs 1,000 monthly. The state’s department of sports in accordance with the laid down parameters grades sportspersons annually. The scholarships would be disbursed with effect from April 1, 2012, as revealed in the Budget speech of the state Finance Minister. The scholarship was also part of the recently re-elected SAD government’s election manifesto. A budgetary provision of Rs 1.5 crore has been made for this. The sports department has also decided to construct multi-disciplinary stadiums in Fazilka, Pathankot, Barnala and Nawanshahar districts, for which a sum of Rs 20 crore has been earmarked. — TNS
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TET teachers decide to resume agitation Bathinda, June 24 Earlier, the teachers had staged a dharna and disrupted traffic for over a week on the Barnala-Bathinda road near Lehra Dhoorkut village. The teachers had also climbed atop a water tank of the village from where they threatened to jump down if their demands were not met. The district administration, police and the Punjab government had requested the teachers to withdraw the dharna and had offered to fulfill their demands. Raghubir Singh Bhawanigarh, general secretary of the Teachers Eligibility Test Pass Unemployed Union, Punjab, said the union members held a meeting with Education Minister at Maluka village on the call of the district administration and the government. He said the teachers had withdrawn their dharna from Lehra Dhoorkut village as the government had assured them to do needful once the education secretary returned from a foreign trip. He claimed that the Minister failed to pacify the teachers during the meeting and stated that the matter was pending on the part of the Chief Minister. He alleged that the Minister was delaying the matter over the pretext of the ongoing Vidhan Sabha session. Now the teachers would launch protest rallies across the state on June 25 after which a massive protest would be launched, he said.
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Sushant Case: Prime accused Prince held
Amritsar, June 24 Prince was arrested near Gate Khazana while he was going on an auto, the police said. He was the mastermind behind the kidnap and murder of Sushant whose body was found near the Rajoke drain falling under the Khalra police station. The police has already arrested his five accomplices, including a woman. “We have recovered the mobile phone which was used by Prince for demanding ransom from the victim’s father,” said RP Mittal, Police Commissioner.The police had also found Sushant’s shirt from near the Bohru village canal, he said. Sushant was kidnapped on June 12 for ransom. He was strangled to death on the same day and his body thrown into the canal.
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Amritsar, June 24
Kapurthala, June 24
Contrary to the claims made by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited
(PSPCL) authorities that the Northern Regional Load Despatch Centre (NRLDC) is allowing Punjab to draw only 5,100 MW even as its total transferable capacity is 5,400 MW, the NRLDC authorities have stated that Punjab has overdrawn power varying between 5,800 MW and 6,000 MW, putting the Northern Grid to risk.
After the SGPC’s move to build Operation Bluestar Memorial in the Golden Temple complex, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee
(DSGMC) now moots a proposal to raise one in Delhi to pay homage to Sikhs killed in the November 1984 riots.
The Congress today lashed out at the BJP for its approval to Operation Bluestar Memorial.
The BJP vice-president and party incharge of Punjab affairs, Shanta Kumar, has said yesterday that he was satisfied with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s plea that the “memorial will commemorate all those killed in the Army operation, including innocent persons and not just the militants”.
Ludhiana, June 23
The much-hyped project under which toilets will be constructed by the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation across the state has come under the scanner with a number of beneficiaries complaining against the use of substandard material in construction work.
What are your first impressions on taking over as Rural Development and Panchayat Minister? 
What is your immediate priority? 
Ludhiana, June 24
Addressing a press conference here today, Shivalik alleged massive irregularities in the Central funds received under the Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (APDRP). "Works were allotted to companies with questionable credentials and payments released without proper verification of works executed by them." 
This information was procured by Kulwinder Komal, Raahat-The Safe Community Foundation, through an RTI application. “Our NGO has been working in the field of road safety for the past 15 years. We are alarmed at the accident figures given by the PHSC. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) says Punjab’s fatality rate in accidents is more than 90 per cent. If the figures given by the PHSC are correct, then 23,000 persons are dying on Punjab roads every year, not 3,400 as shown in the police records.”